Kyousou
by foscari
Summary: Kai wants to be stronger to protect Saya and Riku. One shot.


**Title:** Kyousou  
**Rating:** K+  
**Warnings:** Unbeta-ed, some OOC-ness, minor spoilers for Episodes 12  
**Genre:** General, AU-ish  
**Main Character(s):** Kai, David, Saya, Haji, Riku, Julia, Lewis, mention of Kurara and Spencer  
**Ship(s):** Implied HajiSaya  
**Summary: **Kai wants to be stronger to protect his siblings. One shot.  
**Disclaimer:** Blood+ and characters are copyright to Production IG. I don't own them.  
**Author's Notes:** I know this doesn't follow the storyline because David probably won't be teaching Kai to fight at all but I wanted to try it out. Kai's pride as a man was squashed when Saya told him that he would get in the way during an episode. He's strongly protective of his siblings and I feel that if he has the chance to, he would want to be stronger to protect them, even if Saya is capable of taking care of herself, because she's his sister. This doesn't fit into my drabble world, so it's a stand alone. Kyousou means strong.

* * *

They arrived at the hotel in the wee hours of the morning. If he hadn't been so weary, hungry and in need of sleep, he would have asked how were they going to get past the front desk in their current state; they were all dishevelled, clothes torn and ripped in some places, Saya had dried blood splattered all over her shirt. As it was, the concierge barely gave them a second glance, simply handing over the keycard to their rooms. He had stumbled inside, peeled off his blood-stained shirt – it was ruined – and fell face first into bed, not even bothering to remove his muddy shoes or bothered to have a shower first. He was that tired.

Kurara and Spencer – he'd found out from Riku the next morning – had parted ways with them after getting a night's rest. Kai found himself in the large suite which roomed not just David, Julia and Lewis but also Saya and Haji while he and Riku ended up in the smaller room across theirs. He would have complained, had David not given him a significant look that spoke of the unresolved matter of last night. So, he quietly ate his breakfast, watching as Saya picked her food on her plate and Riku looking forlorn, seated between the burly Lewis and the impassive Haji; his large coffin-shaped cello case was no where in sight. So, he was capable of being apart from it, Kai thought, stuffing more croissant into his mouth.

David gave him a through thrashing after breakfast. Riku was there as well but not Saya. He would have argued back, told David that they shouldn't have left them except he now realize what he had done had actually been foolhardy, reckless and it had been at the risk of his brother's life. So, he listened to David, his jaw clenched so tight it hurt. He felt like small child being scolded by his parent, except when George had been alive, he had never sounded so angry and so disappointed.

When David had finished, and he left the room, he heard melancholy music coming from the balcony of the room. It was Haji, sitting in the rattan chair and playing his cello. The song sounded rather depressing, in his opinion. Saya was seated in the other chair, slouched down, dressed in her own pink polo shirt and jeans; her feet were bare. She was listening to the music, eyes half-closed.

"Can't you play anything livelier," he said waspishly, before he could stop himself. The music came to a halt, Saya sat up, stared at him as if she had never seen him before, eyes comically wide. Haji merely looked at him. Kai suddenly felt foolish, muttered an apology and left them.

Ever since Haji appeared, handing Saya that katana, she had changed. Becoming stronger, much more than him. She used to be the one who needed protection, the one he always looked after, not the other way around. Now, she didn't seem to need him as her protector anymore. It made him feel useless, just tagging along with them and not able to do anything at all. All he and Riku did, were to get in their way. Riku probably didn't feel that way, he groused, watching his younger brother chatted amiably with Lewis over how to make the rice ball perfectly round. No, it was him who was feeling this way and he didn't like it. He told them he was going down for a walk, noted the steely eye glance David bestowed him and promised to be back later.

When he had returned, Julia had apparently taken Saya and Riku somewhere for some sight seeing before they leave tomorrow. Lewis was no where to be seen, neither was Haji. Kai had no doubt tall, dark and stoic had followed them. He remembered Lewis mentioning that Haji was Saya's Chevalier which explained why he was constantly her shadow wherever she went. Kai thought the word stalker should apply as well.

David was sitting at the desk, eyes glued to the laptop screen when he entered. The man didn't seem to notice him but Kai knew better. It was after several uncomfortable silence that the door opened, and the happy group entered the room, carrying several bags. Saya looked much better than earlier, face flushed and smiling. Riku saw him, made a beeline to him and immediately began to detail their little excursion into the city, pulling out stuff from one of the many bags he had dumped on the bed.

"We bought dinner!" said Riku, gesturing to the table where Julia had unpacked the containers of food from the bags. The smells wafted over to him, making his stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast.

"Kai-niichan!" Riku chastised. Julia smiled, amused. Saya giggled.

"I'm hungry, all right?" he said gruffly, slightly embarrassed. A plate with steaming food was suddenly held before him. He squinted, looked up to see Saya beaming down at him.

"Eat up," she said. It was the old Saya smiling at him, the one he remembered from their days back in Okinawa, when everything had been so carefree. He accepted the food with thanks, watched as she skipped over to Riku to glomp him from behind, causing him to spill the noodles he had been about to eat onto the carpeted floor. As he watched and listened to Riku's loud protests and Saya's laugh, he came to a decision.

"Teach me how to fight," he said to David, later that night, after everyone had went to bed. "I want to help. I don't want to stand at the sidelines and be useless like I was before. I want to protect Saya and Riku, and I can't do that if I'm still weak."

"You do know that Saya will not need your protection at all," said David.

"It doesn't matter. She's my sister and I'll still protect her." He gave David such a determined look that the older man couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Very well."

He was going to be stronger, to protect his family.

Owari.


End file.
